“For that night, I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals; and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt; I am Adonai.” (Exodus 12:12) Who were ‘all the gods of Egypt?’ They didn’t need to be identified by names or have alters and standing stones. The ‘gods of Egypt’ were everything they relied upon.
“Observe what I am ordering you to do today. Here! I am driving out ahead of you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a covenant with the people living in the land where you are going, so that they won’t become a snare within your own borders. Rather, you are to demolish their alters, smash their standing-stones and cut down their sacred poles; because you are not to bow down to any other god; since Adonai – whose very name is Jealous – is a jealous God. Do not make a covenant with the people living in the land. It will cause you to go astray after their gods and sacrifice to their gods…Their daughters will prostitute themselves to their own gods and make your sons do the same!” (Exodus 34:11-16)
What drew men to foreign gods rather than to God who said, “…“If you listen intently to the voice of Adonai your God, do what he considers right, pay attention to his mitzvot [commands] and observe his laws, I will not afflict you with any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians; because I am Adonai your healer.”” (Exodus 15:26)? After all, these man-made ‘gods’ were of no value. “The makers of idols all work to no purpose; and the things they treasure can do no good, as they themselves can testify. They neither look nor think, and so they shall be shamed.” (Isaiah 44:9, Tanakh)
These ‘non-gods’ were cleverly disguised as self; choosing one’s own path.
Paul offers a long list describing religious people in the latter days, and begins the list with “self-loving.” “Moreover, understand this: in the acharit-hayamim [latter days] will come trying times. People will be self-loving, money-loving, proud, arrogant, insulting, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, uncontrolled, brutal, hateful of good, traitorous, headstrong, swollen with conceit, loving pleasure rather than God, as they retain the outer form of religion but deny its power…” (II Timothy 3:1-5)
There is a stark warning about ‘retaining the outer form of religion’ in Amos. “Seek good and not evil, so that you will survive. Then Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot [Lord God of Hosts] will be with you, as you say he is.” (Amos 5:14) Just to make the point of this scripture perfectly clear, I have included two other interpretations.
“Seek good and not evil, that you may live, and that the Lord, the God of Hosts, may truly be with you, as you think.” (Tanakh)
“Make it your aim to do what is right, not what is evil, so that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty really will be with you, as you claim he is.” (Good News Bible)
Amos is making the point that a person needs to actually turn from evil rather than just presenting some semblance of a godly life. Amos is addressing all those who follow their own desires, carrying on without God; people doing as they please while being absolutely convinced God is with them.
I believe the most insidious lie of the Adversary is the phrase, “It’ll be okay.” When contemplating what to do, the Enemy of our soul will whisper, “It’ll be okay.” “…the Adversary himself masquerades as an angel of light;” (II Corinthians 11:14) When we set our heart to truly hear the voice of God, the Adversary will also want to be heard, and he’ll try to imitate God (Proverbs 9:4, 16). Over time this subtle assurance from the Adversary leads to following our own path, while thinking God approves.
Humans have always wanted to do things their own way, and nothing has changed. God requires trust and obedience. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are living the life of trust. Test yourselves…” (II Corinthians 13:5)
“…God has come only to test you and make you fear him, so that you won’t commit sins.” (Exodus 20:17(20)) It’s not for me or anyone else to decide if you are living a life of trust. Test yourself. Make a deeply personal and honest assessment about your relationship with God so that, “Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot [Lord God of Hosts] will be with you, as you say he is.”
*All scripture is from the Complete Jewish Bible unless noted otherwise. Some names in the Complete Jewish Bible have been translated to English.